Forging a New Team
by WalkingDeadRox
Summary: Arsenal has never felt comfortable on a team especially after the Warworld, but now, he'll have to lower his guard and teach the newest heroes on how to use their powers. There will be many threats for the team to overcome, and Arsenal will have to become the leader that he never wanted to be.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright… As my author name suggests, I am mostly a Walking Dead author, but I am experiencing writer's block. In addition, I am thinking of moving on from The Walking Dead. I have watched Young Justice twice on Netflix and I have enjoyed this amazing cartoon. This is my first and probably only attempt at making a fic about it.**

 **Also, G0nna6Of4rKID helped me with making the first few chapters. So, a huge thanks to her. She has some very good fics. I encourage you to check them out if you're interested in The Walking Dead game.**

 **Finally, this will be done in the perspective of Tye, Asami, Eduardo, Virgil, Roy (Arsenal), one other character that will join the team later on, and possibly, Justice League and Young Justice team members.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Young Justice**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

It had been a few hours since the events at the Warworld. Roy was keeping a watchful eye on the young and inexperienced heroes that he had led to fight against Black Beetle. After convincing the small group to abandon Lex Luther after he used them to get the crystal key, Roy and the young heroes decided to spend the night at a rundown motel. Roy was still angry that he got kicked off the team, but at the same time, he could understand where Nightwing was coming from. He was surprised that Tye, Asami, Virgil, and Eduardo actually defended him and his actions.

After sleeping the remainder of the night at the motel, the teens woke up the next morning. Roy went into the kitchen to see Tye, Asami, Virgil, and Eduardo at the table. Roy sat down at the table. He was about to speak up, but Eduardo spoke first.

"So... what do we do now?" Eduardo asked.

"You're asking me?" Roy said.

"You are the most experienced out of the five of us." Tye said.

Roy sighed and he said, "Alright... I don't exactly work with teams, but I'll give it a try. First thing we need to do is get a command center established. If you want to have this hero thing work out, we're going to need something that will warn us of criminal activity."

"What are you thinking, Roy?" Virgil asked.

"Hmm... My former mentor had a hidden hideout where we could train, keep an eye on the streets, and sometimes... talk... but he had the money to do that. We can barely afford our next meal." Roy said.

"What if we just... build it?" Tye said.

"You think we could?" Eduardo asked.

Tye shrugged and he said, "Why not? I mean, if Roy knows the layout, we can make something similar. Or at least attempt to."

Roy smiled and he said, "You're learning. That's good... Unfortunately, we would need some high-quality material to withstand... some of your powers. My mentor and I never had to worry about busting down the walls with a single attack since we weren't metahumans. Vergil and Ed wouldn't have too much to worry about, but... you and Sam would bust down anything we build."

"We could hold back." Tye said.

"No... you need to go at it with everything you have. You don't hold back against a real opponent." Roy said.

"Where are we supposed to find the material for this then?" Eduardo said.

"Sit tight for now... I have a few ideas." Roy said. He got up and started to make his way to the door of the motel door, but Virgil stopped him.

"Hold on now. You're not going to steal this stuff, right?" Vergil said.

"I have it handled. In the meantime, I suggest you four start doing research for a crime-ridden city within the US, and… please come up with some superhero personas."

"Alright... How long do you think you're going to be gone?" Tye asked.

"Long enough that you should have your new identities when I return." Roy said.

"Alright." Eduardo said.

"What is superhero persona?" Asami asked.

"A little side mission, try to teach her some more English." Roy said.

"Given the circumstances, she's doing pretty well." Tye said.

"True. Still, there's always room for improvement." Roy said.

"I have a feeling you're going to say that a lot." Virgil said.

Roy smirked and he said, "Better get used to it." With that he walked out of the motel room and left the four teenagers.

"Alright... I guess the first place we need to go is the library." Tye said. "He wanted a crime-ridden city and superhero personas."

"Really, I say we observed the cities. Figure out first hand which one has the most crime." Virgil said.

Eduardo raised a brow. "I don't think that's the best idea. Especially not before we have our superhero personas." Eduardo said.

"What is superhero persona?" Asami asked. She was starting to get frustrated that no one would answer her question.

"It's something that you call yourself. It's so that bad guys don't hurt your friends and family. For instance, Roy goes by Arsenal when in uniform." Tye explained.

"Oh... okay." Asami said.

Tye turned back to Virgil and he said, "Going to the library and using one of the computers would help narrow our search for a city."

"I guess that's true..." Virgil said.

"Good. So, the library it is." Tye said.

* * *

The four teenagers made their way to the local library. Once there, Tye got on the computer and started typing away. He was searching some of the cities within the US for any high crime rates with metahuman involvement.

"Alright, while Tye is doing that, we need to come up with some superhero personas. Any suggestions?" Eduardo said. It was good that the library was having a slow day. Most people were nowhere near the computers.

"What do you think about Electric-Boy?" Virgil asked.

The others sent him a look. Asami shook her head.

"Lame... Of course, all of mine are lame too..." Eduardo said. He looked to Tye and he said, "Hey, how about Goliath for you?"

"Goliath?" Tye asked.

"I kind of like it..." Virgil said. "Has a ring to it."

"It kind of fits when you go with that big astral form." Eduardo said.

"I guess all superhero personas do have a good ring to it." Tye said. He turned to Asami and he said, "For you, how about Pulse or Wave?"

Asami smiled and she said, "Wave is nice."

"Or Kunoichi?" Tye said.

Asami's eyes lightened up and she said, "Kunoichi is better."

Virgil and Eduardo sent a questioning glance at Tye. "You speak Japanese?" Virgil asked.

"Not really. I'm familiar with some words." Tye said.

"Is that from Asami or for Asami?" Eduardo teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tye said.

"Are you picking up words from Asami when she talks or are you trying to impress her by trying to learn her language." Eduardo said.

"Oh shut up..." Tye muttered.

Virgil and Eduardo chuckled at that. Asami sent a small smile to Tye while starting to blush. She may not have been fluent in English, but she did understand what they were saying.

"Alright... how about you Ed?" Virgil asked.

Eduardo stopped laughing and he said, "W-What?"

"Your superhero persona." Virgil said.

"I... I don't know." Eduardo said with a frown.

The group pondered for a few minutes until Vergil said, "How about Zeta as in the Zeta-Beam teleportation technology that your dad made? He did say that you and his technology teleport almost the same."

"That's actually not bad." Eduardo said.

"Cool... so what about me?" Virgil asked. "Are you sure that Electric-Boy won't work?"

"We are very sure that Electric-Boy won't work." Tye said.

"What about Static?" Eduardo said.

"Hey... I like that. Static... I'll put a shock to your system." Virgil said.

"Alright. I think we got our names." Tye said.

"Cool... How's the-" Eduardo said but he was interrupted when Roy entered the library. He was breathing heavy. He looked over to the four teens and gestured them to come outside with a frantic hand motion. The look on his face expressed a hint of fear.

The teens exchanged looks before following Roy outside.

Roy paced around outside until the four teenagers left the library. "About time." Roy said. "Come on... we have a catastrophe on our hands." He started running toward the edge of town. Virgil used the garbage can lid with his electric powers to levitate off the ground while the other three teens rode their skate boards.

"Slow down, amigo. What's going on?" Eduardo said.

Roy huffed before he said, "I was looking for a possible place to be our hideout, but instead, I found a Kryptonian pod. Some people took the pod, but I was able to put a tracker on it. Worst of all, these people are being led by Dark Archer and Damien Darhk." He pulled out a tracking device to follow the pod.

"Wait, who's this Damien Darhk and Dark Archer?" Tye asked.

"Dark Archer is the arch-enemy of my former mentor. He was the leader of the of League of Assassin's. He's a master tactician, superior in hand-to-hand combat, and is one of the deadliest archers in existence. Darhk is even worse. He is also a former leader of the League of Assassins and has a magical talisman that grants him unbelievable power. At the very least, he's able to use a very powerful form of telekinesis." Roy explained. They were reaching the outskirts of the town and were now entering the nearby forest.

"And we're going after this guy?" Virgil asked. "That's crazy..."

"Not as crazy as what they have their hands on." Roy said. "Do you have any idea what would happen if they were able to manipulate whoever is in that pod? The last thing we need is for them to have a Kryptonian on their side." They were now on a dirt trail. It appeared to have been used recently by some vehicles.

"I don't understand. What's a Kryptonian?" Tye said.

"Are you serious?" Roy exclaimed. "You don't even know what a Kryptonian is?"

The teens shook their heads in response.

Roy sighed and he said, "They are an alien humanoid race of beings who originate on the planet, Krypton."

"Okay... Do we know what they're capable of?" Tye asked.

"We sure do... after all, One of the Justice League leaders is a Kryptonian." Roy said.

"Wait... which one?" Virgil asked.

"Superman." Roy said.

The teens' jaws dropped. "Superman? No way man... We can't handle something like this!" Tye exclaimed.

"We have to. Like it or not, that's what we signed up for." Roy said.

"We're not ready for this…" Tye said.

"Even if we aren't, we can't just sit by and let this happen." Roy said.

"Can't we just... contact the Justice League?" Eduardo asked.

"Even if I would agree to that plan which I don't, they wouldn't get here fast enough to stop Dark Archer and Damien Darhk." Roy said. He looked down to the tracking device and he said, "There... They're setting up in a nearby cave... Wendigo Cave..." The other four teens sighed.

"I guess this is our first big mission." Tye said.

"I guess so... Talk about a difficulty curve." Eduardo said.

"We'll survive..." Roy said. "Anyway, what are your superhero personas?"

"Actually, we came up with pretty good ones." Virgil said. "I'm Static."

"Not bad." Roy said. "How about the rest of you."

"Goliath." Tye said.

"Kunoichi." Asami said.

"Zeta." Eduardo said.

"Good... Alright... We're almost to Wendigo Cave..." Roy said.

"That place has a bad reputation." Tye said. "In my culture, the Wendigo Cave is the stomping ground of several wendigo." The teens looked to him with questioning stares. "Wendigo are evil, man-eating creatures."

"Too bad they couldn't be our opponent. Maybe then, we would have a chance." Roy muttered.

"Sounds like we're walking to our deaths when you say that..." Eduardo said.

"It's dangerous?" Asami said.

"Yeah... But we'll be fine... hopefully." Roy said.

The group was starting to get nervous. If their leader, Roy, was this frightened by what these two villains were up to, they knew that they were in for a rough mission. After all, Roy had fearlessly led them against Black Beetle, but now, he was starting to become worried.

* * *

After a few minutes, they arrived outside the cave. There were several armed guards outside. Roy took off his street clothes to reveal his costume underneath. He placed his mask on before he took some pieces of cloth out of his bag; the cloth had eye holes and appeared to be long enough to cover over the eyes of the other four teenagers. "Put these on." Roy whispered as he handed the cloth to the teens. "From now until the mission is over, you address each other by your hero personas." The teens nodded and they put the cloth on.

"So, we get cool costumes after this, right?" Virgil asked.

"That's up to his dad." Roy said as he gestured to Eduardo.

"My dad?" Eduardo asked.

"Your dad is almost a specialist when it comes to metahumans. Costume details should probably be done by him." Roy said.

"What's the plan?" Tye asked.

"First, we need to deal with the cameras." Roy said as he gestured to the set of cameras that were mounted above the cave entrance. "I'll take care of it. Be ready to move." The group of teens nodded in response.

While crouched down, Arsenal moved through the brush. He was determined to not get caught like last time. He went as fast as he could while avoiding detection by the guards. Time was certainly not on his side. He kept thinking about the mayhem that could be caused if he and his team failed.

He perked up. 'His team'? Why did he even think that? He clenched his fist. He kept thinking that he wasn't going to be soft. He wasn't going to let this group of teenagers change his opinion about himself. He thrived when working alone. He didn't need a team. After this mission, he would leave. He was and always will be a solo act. He huffed before he kept moving.

Arsenal was finally able to get in range of the camera. He brought out his bow and aimed it at the camera. He pulled back the bow which had a trick arrow. He shot the arrow which placed a small device that would interfere with the camera's vision. It would only loop the last several minutes.

With the cameras disabled, Arsenal readied another shot. This trick arrow had compacted foam that restricted movement. He released the shot which surrounded a couple of the guards.

"Hey!" One of the guards exclaimed as the foam hardened.

"I can't move!" The other guard exclaimed.

"Now attack!" Arsenal exclaimed. He charged at the other guards. He attacked one of the guards with blinding speed. He hit the closest guard with his bow which knocked the guard unconscious. He followed this by firing a two trick arrows. The arrows had explosives at the tips. They hit another two guards and exploded which knocked them unconscious.

Goliath, Zeta, Kunoichi, and Static came out of the bushes and started their attack as well. The remaining guards. Goliath closed his eyes and concentrated to get into his astral form. Once he did, he stomped over to the guards. The guards fired their guns, but it didn't do much of anything to Goliath. The giant astral form hit some of the guards away. Some were sent flying and hit the cave.

Meanwhile, Static used his electricity to attract the metal guns from the remaining guards. Zeta teleported and pushed the guards so that Kunoichi could knock them out when she repelled herself forward. Soon enough, there were no guards left to fight.

"What now?" Zeta asked while Goliath returned to his human form with no astral form.

"We go inside." Arsenal said. "Be ready to fight." He went to the cave with the teenagers following behind him.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: This is a good place to cut it off. Just so you know, I am using the Arrow version of Damien Darhk.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I feel that I should address this. Yes, I know DC has Tye Longshadow as Apache Chief and Eduardo Dorado Jr as El Dorado. However, I am looking at this from just the cartoon series by itself. I personally think that Goliath and Zeta fit better. Goliath fits for obvious reasons and Zeta because… well I don't want to repeat myself word for word. Look at Virgil's explanation in the first chapter when the team was still deciding on superhero personas. Anyway, on to the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Young Justice**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

The inside of the cave was far from a normal interior of cold stone. It was a secret base. It appeared to be high tech and had many rooms. Arsenal had to admit that with a little work, it could become a good base for the group.

"We could use a base like this this..." Zeta said.

"Agreed. As soon as we thwart Damien Darhk's and Dark Archer's plan, we'll see if this place has everything we need." Arsenal said. They stayed on the lookout for any patrolling guards.

Arsenal took out his tracking device. He looked at the signal. "We're not too far from that pod."

He stopped when he heard footsteps. He looked up just in time to see a couple of guards at the end of the hallway.

"Hey!" One of the men exclaimed. "Sound the alarm!" He aimed his gun at the teenagers and started firing while the other guard sprinted over to an alarm on the wall.

Arsenal shot an explosive arrow at the guard that was running up to the alarm while Static created a controlled electrical discharge as a shield from the bullets. The trick arrow reached the guard and exploded just in time. The man groaned as he fell back and hit the ground.

Zeta teleported Kunoichi behind the other guard. Kunoichi repelled herself into the man with enough force to knock him into the nearby wall. He was rendered unconscious from the hit.

"Good work…" Arsenal said. He turned to the guards and he said, "Hide them."

"I got it." Zeta said. He took the first man and teleported. After a few seconds, he returned to teleport the other man.

"Where'd you take them." Goliath asked after Zeta reappeared the second time.

"Outside with the others." Zeta responded.

"Good enough… Let's go. We're not far from the pod." Arsenal said. He led the way again down a couple more hallways, but then stopped. He peeked around the corner and saw several guards standing in front of elevator doors.

"Get ready on my mark." Arsenal whispered to the group. They nodded in response and got ready to attack.

Arsenal activated the tear gas cannon on his prosthetic arm before he jumped to the side. He shot the tear gas container at the guards which exploded. The guards started coughing and stumbled out of the cloud of tear gas, but they were met with the five teenagers.

Arsenal punched one with his prosthetic arm which sent him flying across the room. Zeta teleported and pushed a guard into Goliath's path. He was using a smaller astral form but it was still strong enough to take out three of the guards. Another guard was contained when Static used his electricity to attract the metal on the guard's uniform onto the metal door at the end of the hallway. Finally, Kunoichi used her chi to repel herself into the last guard. She tackled him into the nearby wall. He groaned as he fell onto the floor.

Arsenal pressed the button to the elevator and waited, but he was less than thrilled to wait for it to come. "Come on… Come on…" Arsenal muttered.

"This is why I used to take the stairs... Elevators take way too long." Static said.

"Whatever…" Arsenal muttered. "This hunk of junk better not have that dreaded elevator music…" The elevator finally opened with typical elevator music coming from inside. Arsenal gritted his teeth. "I hate elevators…" He stomped inside with Goliath, Kunoichi, Zeta, and Static joining him. He pressed the down button on the elevator controls. The elevator doors closed and the group descended further into the cave. A few minutes went by before Arsenal snapped. "Can someone please shut that wretched music off!" Static obliged and sent an electric shock through the lights to fry the radio. In an instant, the music turned off. "Thank you." Arsenal said.

"No prob." Static responded.

The elevator rang to indicate that it was on the bottom floor. "Get ready." Arsenal said. The elevator popped open to reveal more metal walls and a concrete road. There were several pieces of large machinery inside. The teenagers hid behind a forklift and could hear someone talking. They got closer and closer while staying behind the machinery. Soon enough, they could make out who was talking. "Damien Darhk." Arsenal muttered with anger in his voice.

The group peeked out to see an assembly of soldiers. A man dressed in a suit with short white hair spoke while a man dressed in black stood ready. He was armed with a bow, arrows, and a sword. The Kryptonian pod was behind them. Machinery was set up that reflected the sun's rays to the pod; there was a hole in the ceiling of the base that allowed sunlight to come in. "…Now is the time to strike. With Superman and several senior members of the League standing trial at Rimbor, the Justice League is left with only a few of its members and these members are ill-equipped to fight a Kryptonian. Before this day is over, the Justice League will be no more!" The soldiers cheered as the speech ended.

"Not good…" Goliath whispered.

Arsenal used a recording function with a microphone on his prosthetic to listen in on Damien Darhk's and Dark Archer's conversation.

Is it ready?" Damien Darhk asked. "I would hate to see that our little investment went to waste."

"There's a reason they called me The Magician." Dark Archer said. "It's ready. It imitates and improves on Brother Blood's ability to influence his followers." He handed an odd-looking device to Damien Darhk.

"Excellent." Damien Darhk said.

"Not good at all… Brother Blood has a telepathic ability to influence people… It's almost like mind-control." Arsenal explained to the teens.

"What do we do?" Zeta whispered. "We can't just run out there..."

"I know..."Arsenal whispered. "But if my suspicions are correct... we're going to need to stop them before they put that thing on whoever's in that pod."

"Any plans?" Static asked.

"Just one... I'll distract them and you attack from behind. Do not hold back." Arsenal said. He didn't wait for a response. It was now or never. He activated the tear gas function on his prosthetic arm and jumped out from cover. He fired the canister into the crowd of soldier. It exploded which caused the soldiers to cough and wheeze. He then pulled out his bow and started firing explosive arrows at Damien Darhk and Dark Archer.

Damien Darhk stopped the arrows with his telekinesis. He threw the arrows aside before using his telekinesis to clear the tear gas away. Dark Archer readied his bow. "You're not Red Arrow." Dark Archer said before firing the arrow.

Arsenal blocked the shot with his metal arm before tensing up. He could feel pain course through his entire body. "Hmm... it seems we have another Speedy." Damien said. He was using his telekinesis to keep Arsenal in place while causing immense pain.

The four teens continued to move so they could out maneuver the two villains and their soldiers. "It's... Arsenal..." Arsenal said. A compartment opened on his metal arm which caused a flash bang grenade to come out. An almost blinding light came from the grenade.

Blinded by the light, Damien Darhk lost his grip on Arsenal. Arsenal dropped to the ground and rushed toward Dark Archer. He grabbed a sword from one of the soldiers and clashed blades with Dark Archer.

Meanwhile, the other four teenagers attacked. Static used his electricity to glide from soldier to soldier using the trash can lid to levitate. He ripped metal parts from nearby machinery to attack the soldiers. Zeta teleported around to throw the soldiers off balance by bumping into them while Kunoichi repelled them into the nearby equipment.

Goliath, in astral form, stomped down on Damien Darhk, but his telekinesis kept the metahuman from crushing him. "Please..." Damien Darhk muttered before repelling Goliath away. The astral form landed a couple of feet from Damien Darhk.

Kunoichi turned back and saw what was done. She repelled herself forward so she could tackle Damien Darhk, but the villain saw her. He stopped her with his telekinesis.

She groaned and gasped from the pain that his telekinesis caused. "My goodness… It almost warms my heart to see you try."

He took out a decorated knife to stab the girl but was stopped when Static sent an electric shock to the knife. By doing so, Damien Darhk was zapped as well. "Ahhh!" Damien Darhk exclaimed. His telekinesis stopped which allowed Kunoichi to escape. She launched herself away from Damien Darhk. The man was repelled by her chi and was sent toward Goliath who was getting back up. The astral form crushed Damien Darhk.

"Is it over?" Zeta asked.

"Let's hope so." Static said.

After being disarmed, Arsenal flipped back and activated his ion cannon. He fired the deadly beam which hit Dark Archer. "AHH!" Dark Archer yelled out before hitting a nearby forklift truck.

"He's down…" Arsenal said. He ran back over in time to see Damien Darhk using his telekinesis to push off Goliath.

"Playtime is over." Damien Darhk said with an angry look on his face. He sent out a large telekinetic wave that hit the five teenage heroes.

They were sent flying back by the attack. Arsenal regained his balance and fired the ion cannon once again, but Damien Darhk stopped the attack. "My, my... Arsenal, wasn't it? You brought more toys to a fight than Speedy ever could." Arsenal growled as he tried to reroute as much power to the ion cannon as possible, but it still had no effect. Darhk approached the boy while repelling the ion blast. "This was fun, but… I have plans; it's time we ended this little battle." He was getting closer and closer.

Static groaned as he got up. He ran over to Arsenal and he said, "Any ideas?"

"Super charge this ion blast." Arsenal said.

Static nodded. Using one hand he gathered electricity from the wall lights and with the other, he added his electricity into the blast.

Damien Darhk raised both hands to add more defense from the blast. The blast didn't stop his dark magic telekinesis; however, he was starting to struggle to keep up the barrier. In addition, he was pushed back several feet.

"Just a little more!" Arsenal said.

"This is all I got!" Static said.

"Then, I'll help." Kunoichi said. She huffed as she raised her hands. She was going to direct her chi into the blast. It was something she had never done before. "Ahh…" Kunoichi said with some pain. It was almost too much, but it worked. Her chi amplified the blast.

Damien Darhk yelled out in pain as he was blasted several feet through two forklift trucks and into the wall.

Arsenal removed the ion battery from his arm and replaced it while Static and Kunoichi huffed. "That hurt…" Kunoichi said.

"You've never had to use your powers like that before. Good job." Goliath said as he and Zeta returned to the group.

Arsenal ran over and grabbed his bow. It was a very close battle. He was lucky that Damien Darhk wasn't at full power. His eyes widened when he saw that Dark Archer was missing when he scanned the room. "Wait a minute! Where's Dark Archer?" Arsenal asked.

"Right here..." Dark Archer said. He had the device in hand and was near the pod. "You lose." He placed the device on the Kryptonian's head.

Arsenal's eyes widened. "No!" He exclaimed.

"Goodbye, heroes." Dark Archer said as he backed up.

The Kryptonian flew up from the pod. It was a girl. She didn't appear to be much older than thirteen. She looked to the group with an emotionless face.

"What's that thing doing?" Goliath asked.

"It's a mind control device... and I'm sure they pre-programed it..." Arsenal said. Without a word, the Kryptonian girl flew at them.

The heroes were on their guard as the girl approached them; it looked like she was ready to attack.

"Do we fight her?" Static asked.

"We don't have a choice!" Zeta said.

"She's stronger than she looks; keep that in mind." Arsenal said.

Goliath used his astral form and tried to restrain the girl. He captured her, but she easily fought out of his grip and punched the astral form several feet away.

Kunoichi was next to attack the Kryptonian. She used her chi to repel herself into a tackle but the girl avoided her. The Kryptonian grabbed her by the arm and flung her across the room.

"Kunoichi!" Zeta exclaimed. He teleported and was able to catch her at mid-flight. He then teleported to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Zeta asked the girl.

Kunoichi gave a small nod. "Arigato... I mean... Thank you." Kunoichi said.

"No problem..." Zeta said.

Arsenal flipped back as the girl punched the ground where he once stood. The punch left the concrete floor with several cracks. Arsenal fired his ion cannon, but the girl raised her hand to block the blast. It wasn't hurting her in the slightest.

"Any weaknesses?" Static asked as he hovered around with the trash can lid

"Magic and kryptonite... both of which we don't have." Arsenal said.

The girl's eyes flared up and she shot heat vision at Arsenal.

"Watch out!" Static exclaimed and he used a trash can lid to block the heat vision. The beam had melted a hole into the lid. Fortunately, Zeta grabbed them and teleported them away.

The Kryptonian looked around for the next opponent and found it when Goliath tried to crush her. She pushed the astral form away before flying up and delivering another punch. Goliath groaned in pain as he fell back into the nearby wall. The Kryptonian followed this by using her freeze breath ability to freeze the astral form. She then flew into the frozen form which shattered the ice.

She took a hold of Goliath and started choking him. He squirmed in her grip as her eyes started to flare up. She was going to kill him with her heat vision.

Kunoichi repelled herself up to meet the Kryptonian girl. She adjusted herself before releasing a large chi blast to repel herself and the girl. It worked. Kunoichi fell onto the floor, but the Kryptonian girl was able to regain her balance thanks to her ability to fly. Goliath fell back onto the ground and huffed.

"We can't beat her. She's too strong." Zeta said.

Arsenal looked over to the girl. She flew back down and started to approach him, Zeta, and Static. "We don't have to beat her. We just need to remove that mind-control device." Arsenal said.

"How?" Static asked.

"Follow my lead." Arsenal said. He ran forward and fired a couple of explosive arrows at the Kryptonian. The girl shot both arrows with her heat vision. Kunoichi repelled herself forward and tackled the girl. It was enough to knock her off balance. Meanwhile, Static used his electricity to pull two huge metal pipes from the wall. The girl looked up and sliced the metal pipes with her heat vision.

Goliath went into his astral form and grabbed her arms. She went to fly out of the grip but was surprised when Static used his electricity to attract nearby metal to keep her from flying. More and more metal was clinging to the girl's feet.

She looked to Static and fired her heat vision; however, Arsenal stepped in and fired his ion cannon. The two beams met half-way. "Zeta, Kunoichi, now!" Arsenal exclaimed.

Zeta teleported Kunoichi near the girl. Kunoichi grabbed the device on the girl's head and used her chi to destroy it. Once again, it was difficult to direct the energy flow, but it worked. The mind-control device was destroyed.

… **To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Young Justice**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

The Kryptonian girl groaned in pain and started rubbing her head. "Ow… my head really hurts…" The girl said.

Now seeing that she wasn't a threat, Goliath released the girl and returned to his human form while Static released the girl's feet from the metal objects that had accumulated to keep her from flying. "Whoa, whoa!" The girl exclaimed as she lost her balance. She held up her arms in a way that she was bracing for the impact of falling, but it never came. She opened her eyes and looked down. She was flying. "Whoa…" The girl said as she looked around. She started to fly down back to the ground and looked to the teenagers that were gathering around her. "I um… I don't know where to begin."

"How about sorry for almost getting us killed!" Arsenal snapped.

"Whoa! Easy man. She didn't have any say in the matter, remember? You said that thing on her head was a mind-control device." Goliath said.

"That doesn't change the fact that she nearly got us all killed." Arsenal said.

"I… What did I do?" The Kryptonian girl asked as she lowered her head. "I'm sorry… I never meant to hurt anyone…"

"Don't worry about it. Everything worked out alright." Static said.

"And what if it hadn't?" Arsenal inquired. "What if she had gotten one of us killed?"

"Okay, we get it, but it wasn't exactly all her fault." Static said. He looked over to Damien Darhk and Dark Archer only to find that they were no longer present. The group turned to see that the villains had managed to escape.

"You have got to be kidding…" Roy said. If he wasn't angry before, he certainly was now.

"What do we do now?" Zeta asked. "Should we go after them?"

Arsenal growled and he said, "I'm going to get in contact with Eduardo Sr and the police. The rest of you can greet your beloved newcomer." He stomped away from the teenagers and went to the elevator.

The Kryptonian girl grabbed her right arm. She felt even worse than earlier. "Don't worry about him… He's one of the short-tempered types." Zeta said.

The girl looked up and she said, "What did he mean when he said I almost killed you? I mean… the flight is new, but I don't think it would hurt anyone."

"Um… not just flight." Static said. "You also have limitless strength, durability, longevity, heat vision, freeze breath, and a few other abilities."

"Wait… I don't understand. I never had any of that on Krypton. Since when was I able to do all that?" The girl asked.

"It um… You know what… I actually don't know." Goliath said. "This whole hero thing is pretty new to us. We don't have all the information yet, but we do know that you have all those abilities."

"How?" The girl asked with a shrug.

"Because you just fought us. We witnessed first-hand most of your abilities." Zeta said.

"Oh… sorry… I had no idea I was-" The girl said but Static interrupted her.

"I told you to not worry about it. You were under mind control and no one got killed." Static said.

"Too bad it's not enough for some people." Zeta said with a disappointed tone in his voice.

"I guess having Arsenal lead was a bad decision after all…" Static said.

Goliath hummed and he said, "I'm not sure if that's what sent him over the edge. I think there's something else going on."

"If you say so… I think he was in the wrong for giving her the third degree." Static said.

"Ditto." Zeta said. Kunoichi sighed before nodding her head in agreement.

"I'm going to go talk to him." Goliath said.

The teenagers watched on as Goliath pressed the button for the elevator. After a few minutes, the door opened. He entered the elevator and waited to get to the top floor. He was lucky. He was glad that Arsenal was around; otherwise, he and his friends wouldn't be alive. However, Arsenal has proven and said that he doesn't work with groups. But they needed him. He and his friends were too inexperienced and the girl, while being almost invincible, was new to all of this. None of them were able to be leaders.

He reached the top floor and went to find Arsenal. It wasn't long until he noticed the young hero grabbing a rocket propelled grenade from the weapons rack. He tested the weapon for the feel before muttering, "I thought you would get the gist that I don't want to be part of the team."

"You made it pretty clear, but I have to wonder… why?" Goliath said.

"Do I really need to explain it?" Arsenal said. He placed the rocket propelled grenade on the table and approached Goliath. "Some people work better in teams while others work better alone. I'm the latter. Now do you get it?"

"I don't believe that." Goliath said. Arsenal just scoffed before getting the rocket propelled grenade. "You led us to victory against not one, not two, not three, but four powerful opponents who should have killed us."

"Wrong." Arsenal said as he turned back around. "You and the others distracted Black Beetle long enough to where I could free Mongul so we could escape with the team. Damien Darhk and Dark Archer escaped. And if there was no mind control device, that girl would have killed us… I'm not a leader… I'm a loner… and I have made my choice."

Goliath looked down and he said, "Regardless of what you think you are, we see you as our leader…"

"Then it's time that you picked a better leader. And oh… before I forget, I did contact Eduardo Sr. He should be able to convert this place into a base. It'll help if you can operate outside the Justice League's control… especially given their current reputation." Arsenal said. He walked past Goliath.

Goliath turned to Arsenal and he asked, "Where are you going?"

Arsenal stopped before he turned back to Goliath. "I need to find Damien Darhk and Dark Archer and capture them."

"Are you kidding? That's suicide." Goliath said.

"My clone did it, so why can't I? After all, the original is usually better than the clone." Arsenal said.

"They're too strong. Look, I'm sure the Red Arrow had help from his allies like Green Arrow and Black Canary. You can't do this alone." Goliath said.

"Watch me…" Arsenal said. He walked away from Goliath. Goliath couldn't do much of anything. Arsenal would only fight him if he got in the way and the fact was that Arsenal had fought harder opponents than him. So, he let the teenager leave.

* * *

After a few minutes, the team returned and approached him. "Hey… how'd the talk go?" Static asked.

Goliath shook his head. "That bad huh? I guess I'm not too surprised." Zeta said.

Goliath looked up and to see his three friends and the Kryptonian girl. "He left… He doesn't want to be our leader…" Goliath said.

"Dang… all this because of Kara?" Zeta asked.

"Who?" Goliath asked.

"Me… My name is Kara Zor-El… and as you have probably figured out by now, I'm from Krypton." The Kryptonian girl said.

"Oh okay… I'm Goliath." Goliath said.

"Real name is Tye." Zeta said.

"Dude… seriously? Arsenal said superhero personas until the mission was over." Goliath said. His eyes widened when he noticed that none of them were wearing the cloth that acted as masks.

"Hey… no one's around." Virgil said.

"What about her?" Tye asked as he gestured to Kara.

"She already told you her secret identity and well… we could really use some help out there." Eduardo said. He turned to Kara and he said, "How about it? Would you be willing to join the team?"

"I… I can't… I have to find my baby cousin, Kal-El." Kara said. "Do you happen to know if any other Kryptonain pods have landed on Earth recently?"

The group shook their heads. "There's only been two. Your pod and Superman's."

"Superman?" Kara asked.

"None of us really know his real name." Tye said. "I guess he really has that secret identity concept down."

"I thought my cousin and I were the only Kryptonians left. I'll have to find him. There's so much he could teach us… but first, I have to find Kal-El." Kara said.

"Wait… please… we need your help." Tye said. "Arsenal's going to get himself killed. He's going after the same people who put you under mind control. They're too strong. He won't stand a chance against them."

"I… I have to find my baby cousin, but… I do owe you guys one." Kara said. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be under mind control… and who knows what those guys would have made me do…"

"Thank you." Tye said. "He turned to his friends and he said, "Come on guys. We have to help him. He saved our lives today and on the Warworld."

Virgil, Asami, and Eduardo looked to each other before looking to Tye. "I think you would be an amazing leader." Virgil said.

Tye shook his head. "I don't have the experience that Arsenal does. He may be rash and have a short fuse, but I feel confident with him leading us. Even if he doesn't want to recognize it, he IS our leader. Without him, we can't do much of anything."

There was silence amongst the teenagers. "Kara and I are going to save Arsenal… and I think you guys should do the same." Tye said.

Asami smiled and she said, "I want to help."

"Count me in too." Virgil said.

Eduardo sighed and he said, "You're right… I'm in too."

Tye nodded and he said, "Alright… thanks guys."

"No prob. Now let's get a move on." Virgil said. He put his mask back on along with the others.

The five teenagers left the cave to be greeted by Eduardo Sr and the police. "Arsenal did say he contacted the local police and Eduardo Sr." Goliath said.

The sheriff walked up to the teenagers and he said, "I recognize you. You're those vandalizing kids who destroy all that Reach garbage."

"Is everything alright, officer?" Static asked.

"Everything's fine. As far as I'm concerned, those Reach aliens shouldn't be here…. And now they're giving us that poison. As far as I'm concerned, you kids can keep destroying that Reach vomit. I don't trust them." The sheriff said.

"Do you hate all aliens?" Kara asked.

"Not all of them. I consider Superman and the Martian Manhunter to be prime examples of trustworthy aliens. They've saved the human race more times than I can count." The sheriff said.

"Thank you Sheriff Collins. I'll handle it from here." Eduardo Sr said. The sheriff nodded before he walked away to tend to the guards that were unconscious or captured. Eduardo Sr turned to the teenagers and he crossed his arms over his chest. "You kids…. None of you have returned home since you left STAR Labs… and from the looks of it, you're now encouraging other children to leave their homes." He looked over to Kara; she wasn't part of original four teenagers back at STAR Labs.

The teenagers gave looks of guilt. Goliath sighed and he said, "I should have gone home and checked on my mom…"

"I knew I was forgetting something… Man… pops and Sharron are going to kill me…" Static said.

Kunoichi shook her head and she said, "There's nothing for me to return to…"

"I um… I don't have a home…" Kara said. She was the only teenager that didn't have a guilty look on her face.

Eduardo Sr sighed and he said, "Junior, your mama misses you. You need to go visit her."

"I will… but Arsenal… He's in big trouble right now." Zeta said.

"What kind of trouble?" Eduardo Sr asked.

"The kind of trouble that involves Damien Darhk and Dark Archer." Goliath said. "We're on our way to help him."

"No… that would be suicide. Let me contact the League. I know they're stretched thin, but quite honestly, Damien Darhk and Dark Archer are too strong for you five." Eduardo Sr said.

"No… you need to let us handle this." Goliath said. "Like you said, the League is stretched thin and they're too focused on the Reach."

"They're too dangerous." Eduardo Sr said.

"We'll take our chances. Arsenal helped us on the Warworld; we have to help him." Goliath said.

"You went to the Warworld?" Eduardo Sr inquired.

Zeta rubbed the back of his head and he said, "It's a long story…"

"We'll explain when we come back, but right now, Arsenal needs us." Static said.

Eduardo Sr sighed and he said, "I feel like I'm sending you to your deaths… but alright… Just... regardless… I'll need to contact the League."

Goliath nodded and he turned to the group. "Let's move." Goliath said. The teenagers followed Goliath's lead and they started to go deeper into the forest.

"So wait… How do we know which way he went?" Zeta asked.

Goliath looked to the ground and he said, "I'll follow his tracks." He looked up and started following the footprints and tire marks that went deeper into the forest. The other four teenagers followed him.

* * *

Arsenal peaked over the bushes. He gritted his teeth as he watched the exchange between Damien Darhk and Dark Archer.

"It seems our mission failed." Dark Archer said.

"Not quite. True, the Kryptonian is now out of our grasp, but we now know the capabilities of the mind control device… Now we just need to capture her and find a way to make the mind control device fuse to her body. Either way, the Justice League will be no more… and Superman will be broken." Damien Darhk said.

"Those new heroes were unexpected. I have never seen them before." Dark Archer said.

"Indeed. We'll have to ask our little friend about them." Damien Darhk said before he made a hand gesture. Arsenal groaned as he tensed up. He was forced out of the shrubbery and out into the opening. Damien made another hand gesture which repelled Arsenal into a tree.

"AHH!" Arsenal exclaimed. Damien Darhk made another hand motion that brought Arsenal forward only to be kicked back by Dark Archer. Arsenal fell to the ground with Dark Archer standing over him with his sword pressed against his neck.

"We should kill him." Dark Archer said.

"Hmm… perhaps… he could prove useful." Damien Darhk said. "With enough torture and brainwashing, he could become our little sleeper agent into the Justice League… He will provide us the opportunity to strike."

"You will… not capture me…" Arsenal muttered. He raised his prosthetic arm and activated the ion cannon. He shot Dark Archer off. Dark Archer groaned in pain as he landed on the ground nearby. Arsenal grabbed the rocket propelled grenade and fired it. He didn't aim for Darhk. Instead, he fired at the nearby vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed.

"There goes your talisman, Darhk." Arsenal said. He aimed the rocket propelled grenade at Darhk, but Darhk stopped the attack with telekinesis.

"Impossible!" Arsenal exclaimed. The rocket was turned around with the telekinesis. It was aimed at Arsenal. Arsenal's eyes widened as the rocket was released and went toward him. He jumped away as the rocket exploded next to him. "AHH!" Arsenal exclaimed as the blast sent him to the ground. He groaned as he was picked up by the dark magic telekinesis.

"Well done." Damien Darhk said. "Aiming for that talisman was a good idea, but I'm afraid that it can't be destroyed by conventional means. It would take a magic user to destroy that talisman which is something you don't have." He turned to see Dark Archer stand.

"It's time we ended this little fiasco." Dark Archer said. He grabbed his bow and aimed it at Arsenal. Arsenal wanted to fight back but he couldn't. The dark magic telekinesis kept him from moving. He thought maybe this was for the best. His clone had lived a very successful life. His clone accomplished so much in eight years. Not only was Red Arrow able to become a member of the Justice League, but he was able to handle situations tougher than this. And to add on top of it all, he had a child. Maybe the clone was better than the original.

Damien Darhk sighed and he said, "I guess you're right… Arsenal would prove to be too much trouble." Dark Archer released the arrow. A few seconds passed before Arsenal could hear the metal clang of the arrow hitting the ground. He looked up to see the Kryptonian girl hovering before him.

… **To be continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Young Justice**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Kara turned to Damien Darhk and used her freeze breath ability. Damien Darhk struggled as he used his telekinesis to block the attack. Through his concentration to keep the telekinetic barrier, he lost his grip on Arsenal. Arsenal ran forward. He grabbed Dark Archer's sword with his prosthetic. However, Dark Archer kicked him back and fired an explosive trick arrow. The arrow detonated which sent Arsenal back.

Arsenal collided with Kara. She was forced back by Damien Darhk's telekinesis. "Ouch… what was that?" Kara asked.

"Magic… You're vulnerable to it." Arsenal said as he got back up. Kara went back to hovering in the air. Arsenal jumped and fired a couple of explosive arrows. Dark Archer jumped to avoid the arrows. Dark Archer then shot a trick arrow with a metal bumper in the front. It hit Arsenal and sent him to the ground.

Arsenal groaned as he hit the ground. He huffed as he tried to get back up. Dark Archer approached him with his sword drawn. However, Dark Archer was hit by Kunoichi; Kunoichi had propelled herself forward with her chi to tackle Dark Archer. The villain managed to keep his balance from the attack and kicked her away.

Dark Archer pulled back his bow and fired the arrow at Kunoichi; however, she used her chi to repel herself up.

Zeta appeared behind Dark Archer and unbuckled the quiver full of arrows. "What the…?" Dark Archer said. He turned to strike at the young hero, but Zeta teleported in time to avoid the slash. Dark Archer was hit from behind by Kunoichi. He groaned from the hit as he stumbled forward. Arsenal aimed a trick arrow and fired it; the arrow released a metal chord that wrapped around Dark Archer.

Dark Archer fell to the ground and struggled to free himself from the metal chord. His sword and bow were out of reach. "It's over, Dark Archer." Arsenal said.

Dark Archer scoffed and he said, "Don't get too cocky. You should know by now that there's no cell that can hold me."

"We should help the others." Zeta said.

Arsenal looked up to see Static, Goliath, and Kara struggling in Damien Darhk's telekinesis.

Without a word, Arsenal raise his bow and aimed three explosive trick arrows at Damien Darhk. "Like that will do anything against me." Darhk said.

Arsenal turned to Kunoichi and he said, "Use your powers to propel my arrows. Kunoichi nodded and readied herself to propel the arrows. Arsenal released the arrows. Kunoichi repelled the arrows with her ability; however, it wasn't enough. The arrows came close to hitting Darhk, but his telekinesis blocked the arrows which exploded.

"I'm out…" Arsenal said as he reached back to get another arrow.

"What about that ion cannon?" Zeta asked.

"We've already seen that it can't do anything against him." Arsenal said.

"You know? Normally, I wouldn't punish creativity, but you children have pushed me over the edge." He made a hand gesture that didn't look good. Arsenal's eyes widened when he saw this. It looked as if Darhk was going to snap the other heroes' necks.

To everyone's surprise, the other three teenagers dropped to the ground. They weren't hurt.

"What? No… what's going on?" Damien Darhk said as he used his hand motions, but nothing happened.

Arsenal, Kunoichi, and Zeta went up to Kara, Goliath, and Static. "You three okay?" Zeta asked.

"We're fine, but what just happened?" Goliath asked.

Arsenal sent a glare to Damien Darhk and he said, "It doesn't matter. Take him out."

Damien Darhk pulled out his knife. "I'm still a trained assassin." Damien Darhk said.

"Won't matter." Goliath said. He transformed into his astral form. The astral form punched the ground where Damien Darhk once stood, but the man avoided the attack; however, he was blind sighted by Kara who delivered a knock-out punch.

Damien Darhk fell onto the ground. He was unconscious. The battle was finally over.

"I… didn't really hit him all that hard…" Kara said. She turned to Static and she said, "You weren't joking about that unlimited strength stuff."

"It's because of the yellow star that Earth orbits. You and Superman get your powers because of the sun." Arsenal said as he gestured to the setting sun in the distance. It was evening.

Kara nodded before she said, "Superman… He's a Kryptonian… but I didn't know if any other Kryptonians left Krypton."

The conversation came to an abrupt end when the six teenage heroes heard clapping. They turned to the nearby brush to see Lex Luther step out with Deathstroke by his side.

"Luther!" Arsenal exclaimed. He activated the ion cannon on his prosthetic, but he stopped when Deathstroke aimed his gun at him.

"I wouldn't try it, kid." Deathstroke said.

Lex gave a hand motion that gestured Deathstroke to stand down. "I merely wanted to congratulate you six on your first mission together. You rescued the Krytponian, took out Mr. Darhk and his accomplice, and started working as a team. Well done." Lex said.

"I don't understand. What are you doing here?" Goliath said.

Lex scoffed and he said, "Taking care of business. Mr. Darhk has been an annoying thorn in my side… so when I saw that he was less active than normal, I decided to investigate. I dare say that manipulating a Kryptonian was very clever…. He must have masked the pod's entry from the Justice League. All to claim the pod for himself." He turned back to the teenagers and he said, "Lex Corp has been very busy crafting a dampener for Mr. Darhk's talisman, but it seems to be a success."

"How on Earth were you able to nullify magic? That's impossible?" Arsenal said.

"Let's just say I have friends in high places." Lex said. "For now, I must take my leave. You young heroes should celebrate this victory." Lex Luther turned and walked away with Deathstroke following behind him.

There was a moment of silence among the young heroes. "A friend of yours?" Kara asked.

"Hardly… If anything, he's very dangerous." Arsenal said.

"He's also very skilled at manipulation." Goliath said. "We kind of found that out the hard way… nearly got us killed because of it."

"All for what?" Kara asked.

Arsenal sighed and he said, "Later… for now… I guess I owe you all my thanks… Without you, I'd be dead."

"What are friends for?" Static said.

"Besides, we probably wouldn't coordinate all that well without our leader." Goliath said.

Arsenal sighed and he said, "You're still stuck on this whole leader thing, huh?"

"Look, I know you probably prefer going at it alone, but… you can't deny the results when working with a team." Zeta said.

"We trust you. You helped us back at the Warworld." Kunoichi said.

Arsenal shook his head and he said, "You're wrong… Nightwing was right. I put myself before the team. I ran because I was getting overpowered and… I didn't want to be captured again. I spent eight years on ice… I was frozen and locked up somewhere while my clone lived my life… He got everything in the end… He became a member of the Justice League and he's even got a family… That was my life… That is what I should have become. But no… now I'm nothing but his shadow…. I will never be able to be better than him. He even has my mentor's respect… That's something I figured I would never achieve…"

The group members looked to him with sympathetic glances as Arsenal looked over to Damien Darhk and Dark Archer. "Come on… We have to get these two in a prison cell." Arsenal said.

"Okay." Goliath said. He went into his astral form and picked up the two villains. After a few minutes of searching, the team found the magical talisman with a device attached to it. It had L Corp written on it. Goliath also picked up the talisman and carried it back to the cave. The other group members followed behind him.

"I'm sorry… for earlier." Arsenal said to Kara. "I was trying to make a point… I was trying to convince them that I don't work well with groups."

"I understand but I don't think you convinced them at all… If anything, I think you were trying to convince yourself but even that failed." Kara said. "I'm sorry that your life got turned upside down like that."

Arsenal nodded and he said, "Worst part is… I don't really know who to blame. At first, I wanted to hate my clone, but… he didn't do anything wrong. I mean… he spent five years tirelessly searching for me. I couldn't hate him especially when he was the one who found me. Then I turned that hate on my former mentor… But again, that didn't work… He helped me get off the streets… He was the closest I had to a father… even if we didn't agree all the time. Finally, I concentrated that hatred on the man that was involved in my abduction, Lex Luther. I tried to kill him for what he did to me, but he outsmarted me. He offered me a choice. Die with some sense of vengeance or live with satisfaction." He lifted his prosthetic and looked it over. "I chose satisfaction… and thus, my hatred came to an end… or at least, it should have."

Kara nodded and she said, "I keep wondering what I'd be like right now if Krypton never… died. I would be with my parents… watching Kal-El grow up… Now… I have to find Kal-El on this world and raise him. I'm not too sure if I'm up for the task."

Arsenal nodded and he said, "We'll help you find him. Who knows? Maybe the Justice League have already located him."

Kara sent a smile to Arsenal and she said, "Thanks…"

"No problem…" Arsenal said. "I'm… Roy Harper… in case no one told you."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kara Zor-El in case you didn't catch my name." Kara said.

Arsenal smiled and he said, "Nice to meet you."

* * *

The group returned to the cave to see the sheriff and a couple of officers standing by. Captain Atom and Green Arrow were talking to Eduardo Sr until they noticed the teenagers coming out of the forest. Goliath placed the two villains in front of the officers and the talisman in front of the two League members. Goliath returned to his normal size as the two League members approached the teenagers. Green Arrow appeared to be furious.

"Do you have any idea how stupid that was?" Green Arrow inquired. "Damien Darhk and Dark Archer would have killed you kids!" Static, Goliath, Kunoichi, and Eduardo lowered their heads out of guilt. "And on top of it all, none of you have gone home to your parents! What have you been doing this whole time?"

"On that note… good job." Captain Atom said. Arsenal's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting Captain Atom to congratulate the team. The other four teenagers looked up with shocked stares.

"What? Are you serious? They… They put their lives in danger when they could have contacted us!" Green Arrow exclaimed.

"Arrow, you are right, but… at the same time, they have shown that they are capable of becoming a team… It almost reminds me of Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Superboy after their mission in Cadmus… five years ago." Captain Atom said.

"This… They can't do this alone. They should join the team under Nightwing's leadership." Green Arrow said.

"No way… We want Arsenal as our leader." Goliath said.

"Look, I'm sure Nightwing has proven to be an effective leader, but Arsenal led us back in the Warworld and helped us to keep Black Beetle preoccupied long enough to free Mongul so that he could fight off Black Beetle. All of it so he could create a distraction that could help us free the others and escape without putting our own teammates lives in the crosshairs." Static said.

"This isn't up for debate." Eduardo Sr said. "Nightwing has more experience."

"Experience with his team, papa." Zeta said. "Not with us and he made it very clear that he didn't want Arsenal back on the team."

"There's a reason for that, Junior." Eduardo Sr said.

Arsenal stepped forward and he said, "I did mess up back in the Warworld and at that plantation. I'm still getting a grasp on everything, but I can assure you that I will become a better leader."

"What makes you so sure, Arsenal? You've been a loose cannon since Red Arrow rescued you." Green Arrow said.

"Because… I now have a team that's relying on me to not fail. I may not be ready to lead, but I'm all that they have." Arsenal said.

Captain Atom smiled and he said, "About the best we're going to get when it comes to a promise." He walked up to Arsenal and he said, "I don't know much about leading… I was somehow the most qualified. Aquaman knew that his responsibilities in Atlantis would take up too much of his time, Green Arrow and Black Canary had personal responsibilities, Dr. Fate is too focused on keeping order in balance to be a good choice, Red Tornado couldn't do it for obvious reasons, and the other members are either too inexperience or too young. So… I accepted temporary leadership of the League. I can tell you one thing for sure. Being a leader is different from being a teammate. Here's one thing I learned, a real leader knows how each person in his team functions…. And I think you got that down."

Arsenal nodded and he said, "I'm going to do my best…"

"I'll hold you to that." Captain Atom said. "For now, I need to take this talisman back to the League's headquarters."

"Someone's got to keep an eye on them. It's fine that Arsenal leads them on missions, but what about mission assignments and training?" Green Arrow said.

"I think Black Canary would enjoy teaching the new team since she liked her role in the first team's training." Captain Atom said. "We'll talk more later. Just give me a few minutes."

Green Arrow sighed before he nodded his head.

"I'll stay here until then." Eduardo Sr said.

"Very well… I'll be back." Captain Atom said. He took the talisman and flew up with it. Soon, he wasn't visible in the evening sky.

"We're taking off from here, Green Arrow." The sheriff from earlier said. "We got to get the paperwork done for Mr. Darhk's and Dark Archer's transfer to Belle Rev."

"Alright… Thanks..." Green Arrow said.

"Don't mention it." The sheriff said before he went over to his squad car.

Eduardo Sr sighed and he said, "Well… what should we do until Captain Atom comes back?"

"The cave is suitable for a base. It just needs some minor renovations." Eduardo said.

The two men looked to each other before looking back to the children. "We'll be the judge of that." Eduardo Sr said. "Green Arrow." He made a gesture to go into the cave, but Green Arrow was more preoccupied by Kara.

Green Arrow walked over to the girl and he said, "I don't recognize you. What's your name?"

"Kara." The girl responded.

Eduardo Sr approached the girl and he said, "Oh yes… are you running away like the rest of your team?"

Kara looked to him with a questioning stare. "I don't quite understand."

Tye walked over and he said, "Eduardo Jr, Asami, and I are all runaways. The Reach abducted us after we ran away from our homes. They performed tests on us."

"Why would you run away?" Kara asked. "And what kind of tests?"

"Well… it's complicated as to why we left… And the tests they ran were… to awaken our metagenes." Tye said. "It's rare if anyone has a metagene, but if someone does have a metagene, then that person will have abilities that very few people possess."

"I see… I've heard stories about the Reach. I hoped that they would never be on Krypton, but I guess that doesn't matter anymore." Kara said.

"Krypton?" Green Arrow said with wide eyes. Eduardo Sr was also surprised to hear this.

Kara turned to the two men and she said, "Yeah… I'm from Krypton."

The two men were still very shocked to hear that the girl was in fact a Kryptonian. "Man… if only Superman was here. He'd be thrilled to know that he's not the last Kryptonian in the universe." Green Arrow said.

"I'm not here alone. My baby cousin, Kal-El, is out there somewhere." Kara said. "In fact, I have to go find him."

"Now hold on. I think… um… How long has it been since you left Krypton?" Green Arrow asked.

Kara shrugged. "It might have been a week or two. The blast from Krypton's destruction threw my pod off course, but I think it did correct itself and went to the right planet. Of course, all these powers that I have are new…"

"Listen… I might know where your cousin might be at, but can you wait until morning?" Green Arrow said.

"I… guess so…" Kara said.

Green Arrow nodded and he said, "Thank you… Now… let's see what if this place has any potential." He went inside the cave with Eduardo Sr and the teenagers following him inside.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Yeah, this is a good place to end the chapter.**


End file.
